Solid state drive apparatus and data storage system having the same

ABSTRACT

A solid state drive apparatus includes a housing having an inner space and a plurality of vent channels penetrating a first side wall at a first side of the housing and a connector opening penetrating a second side wall at a second side of the housing opposite the first side of the housing, and a package substrate module in the inner space and having a package base substrate and a plurality of semiconductor chips mounted on the package base substrate. Each of the plurality of vent channels extends inwardly from an outer surface of the first side wall to an inner surface of the first side wall such that a vertical level of at least a portion of each of the plurality of vent channels varies between the outer surface and the inner surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2018-0001683, filed on Jan. 5, 2018, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The inventive concept relates to a solid state drive apparatus and adata storage system having the same, and more particularly, to a solidstate drive apparatus including a housing having vent holes, and a datastorage system having the solid state drive apparatus.

Solid state drive apparatuses are gaining attention as a next-generationstorage device to replace hard disk drives. The solid state driveapparatuses are storage devices based on a non-volatile memory and havelow power consumption and a high storage density. In addition, solidstate drive apparatuses used as a storage device allow for the input andoutput of a large amount of data at a high speed, and thus, a higherdemand for the solid state drive apparatuses is expected.

Accordingly, data storage systems having a solid state drive apparatusare also being developed. However, as the capacity of the solid statedrive apparatuses increases, heat generation also increases.

SUMMARY

The inventive concept provides a solid state drive apparatus havingincreased reliability by maximizing heat dissipation, and a data storagesystem having the solid state drive apparatus.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided asolid state drive apparatus including: a housing having an inner spaceand a plurality of vent channels penetrating a first side wall at afirst side of the housing and a connector opening penetrating a secondside wall at a second side of the housing opposite the first side of thehousing; and a package substrate module in the inner space and having apackage base substrate and a plurality of semiconductor chips mounted onthe package base substrate. Each of the plurality of vent channelsextends inwardly from an outer surface of the first side wall to aninner surface of the first side wall such that a vertical level of atleast a portion of each of the plurality of vent channels varies betweenthe outer surface and the inner surface.

According to another aspect of the inventive concept, there is provideda solid state drive apparatus including: a housing defining an innerspace and a plurality of vent channels defined in a first side wall at afirst side of the housing and a connector opening defining in a secondside wall at a second side of the housing opposite the first side of thehousing; a first package substrate module in the inner space andincluding a first package base substrate and a plurality of first memorysemiconductor chips and at least one controller chip mounted on thefirst package base substrate; and a second package substrate module inthe inner space and including a second package base substrate and aplurality of second memory semiconductor chips mounted on the secondpackage base substrate. Each of the plurality of vent channels extendsinwardly and upwardly from an outer surface of the first side wall to aninner surface of the first side wall.

According to another aspect of the inventive concept, there is provideda data storage system including a solid state drive apparatus,including: a main board; a plurality of solid state drive apparatuseseach including a housing having an inner space and a plurality of ventholes penetrating a first side wall at a first side of the housing and aconnector opening penetrating a second side wall at a second side of thehousing opposite the first side of the housing, a package substratemodule in the inner space and having a package base substrate and aplurality of semiconductor chips mounted on the package base substrate,wherein the second side wall faces the main board and is connected tothe main board; and at least one cooling fan arranged adjacent to thefirst side wall of each of the plurality of solid state driveapparatuses. For each of the plurality of solid state drive apparatuses,each of the plurality of vent holes extends inwardly from an outersurface of the first side wall to an inner surface of the first sidewall such that a vertical level of at least a portion of each of theplurality of vent holes varies between the outer surface and the innersurface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the inventive concept will be more clearly understoodfrom the following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views from different directions of asolid state drive apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventiveconcept;

FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view illustrating the solid state driveapparatus taken along line IC-IC′ of FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 1D is a side view of the solid state drive apparatus according toan embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 2A is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a solid statedrive apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 2B is an enlarged partial side view of a solid state driveapparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 2C is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a vent hole of the solidstate drive apparatus;

FIG. 3A is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a solid statedrive apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 3B is an enlarged partial side view of a solid state driveapparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 4A is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a solid statedrive apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 4B is an enlarged partial side view of a solid state driveapparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 5A is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a solid statedrive apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 5B is an enlarged partial side view of a solid state driveapparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 6A is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a solid statedrive apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 6B is an enlarged partial side view of a solid state driveapparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 7 is a side view of a solid state drive apparatus according to anembodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of a solid state drive apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 8B is a side view of a solid state drive apparatus according to anembodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 9 is a side view of a solid state drive apparatus according to anembodiment of the inventive concept;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a solid state drive apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the inventive concept; and

FIG. 11 is a structural diagram of a system according to an embodimentof the inventive concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. Expressions such as “atleast one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire listof elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views from different directions of asolid state drive apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of theinventive concept. FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view illustrating thesolid state drive apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of theinventive concept. FIG. 1D is a side view of the solid state driveapparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the inventive concept. Indetail, FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view cut along line IC-IC′ of FIGS.1A and 1B.

Referring to FIGS. 1A through 1D, the solid state drive apparatus 1includes a housing 100 and a package substrate module 400 mounted in thehousing 100.

The housing 100 may be formed of a single material or differentmaterials combined with one another considering heat transfercharacteristics. The housing 100 may be formed of a metal, acarbon-based material, a polymer material, or a combination thereof, butis not limited thereto. The housing 100 may be formed of, for example,copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), zinc (Zn), tin (Sn), stainless steel or aclad metal including these. Alternatively, the housing 100 may be formedof, for example, graphite, graphene, carbon fiber, carbon nanotube (CNT)composite, or the like. Alternatively, the housing 100 may be formed ofa polymer material such as epoxy resin, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA),polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene (PE), or the like.

The housing 100 may include an upper cover 102 and a lower cover 104coupled to the upper cover 102. The housing 100 may include an innerspace or cavity 108 which is defined or enclosed by the upper cover 102and the lower cover 104 and in which the package substrate module 400 isreceived.

The housing 100 may have a first side wall SW1 and a second side wallSW2 which are opposite to each other. In this specification, mostportions of the first side wall SW1 and the second side wall SW2 areshown as portions of the upper cover 102. However, the inventive conceptis not limited thereto, and various modifications in the form may bemade by one of ordinary skill in the art such that most portions of thefirst side wall SW1 and the second side wall SW2 of the housing 100 areportions of the lower cover 104 or the first side wall SW1 and thesecond side wall SW2 of the housing 100 are respectively a portion ofthe upper cover 102 and a portion of the lower cover 104. However, forconvenience of description, the present description will focus on anembodiment where most portions of the first side wall SW1 and the secondside wall SW2 are portions of the upper cover 102.

The housing 100 may have a plurality of vent holes or channels 110defined in the first side wall SW1. The plurality of vent holes 110 maypenetrate the first side wall SW1 so as to communicate the outside ofthe housing 100 with the inner space 108. In other words, the innerspace 108 and the area outside of the housing 100 may be in fluidcommunication via the vent holes 110. The plurality of vent holes 110may be formed to penetrate, for example, the upper cover 102. Theplurality of vent holes 110 may be formed to extend in an obliquedirection or at an oblique angle with respect to each of an uppersurface of the housing 100 and a surface of the first side wall SW1. Avertical cross-section of each of the plurality of vent holes 110 maybe, for example, a bar shape, but is not limited thereto. For example,the vertical cross-section of each of the plurality of vent holes 110may have various shapes such as a circle, an ellipse, and a rectangle.

The plurality of vent holes 110 will be described in greater detail withreference to FIGS. 2A to 2C.

The housing 100 may have a connector groove or opening 120 defined inthe second side wall SW2. The connector groove 120 may penetrate thesecond side wall SW2 so as to communicate the outside of the housing 100with the inner space 108. The connector groove 120 may be formed to passthrough, for example, the upper cover 102. An external connector 200connected to the package substrate module 400 may be disposed in theconnector groove 120.

The external connector 200 may include a terminal portion 210electrically connected to the package substrate module 400 and aconnector body portion 220 supporting the terminal portion 210. Theexternal connector 200 may connect the solid state drive apparatus 1with an external host to exchange signals and/or receive power. Theexternal connector 200 may be configured to be connectable to anexternal device in accordance with, for example, a parallel advancedtechnology attachment (PATA) standard, a serial advanced technologyattachment (SATA) standard, a small computer system interface (SCSI)standard, or a PCI Express (PCIe) Connector. The SATA standard coversnot only SATA-1 but also all SATA-related standards such as SATA-2,SATA-3, and external SATA (e-SATA). The PCIe standard covers not onlyPCIe 1.0, but also all PCIe family standards such as PCIe 2.0, PCIe 2.1,PCIe 3.0, and PCIe 4.0. The SCSI standard encompasses all SCSI familystandards such as parallel SCSI, serial-attached SA-SCSI (SAS), andiSCSI. In some embodiments, the external connector 200 may be aconnector configured to support an M2 interface, an mSATA interface, ora 2.5″ interface.

The package substrate module 400 may include a package base substrate410 and a plurality of semiconductor chips 420 mounted on the packagebase substrate 410. The package substrate module 400 may be or include,for example, a single in-line memory module (SIMM) mounted on an uppersurface of the package base substrate 410, but is not limited thereto.The package substrate module 400 may be or include, for example, a dualin-line memory module (DIMM) mounted on each of upper and lower surfacesof the package base substrate 410.

A method of mounting the plurality of semiconductor chips 420 on thepackage base substrate 410 may be a ball grid array (BGA) method, a pingrid array (PGA) method, a tape carrier package (TCP) method, achip-on-board (COB) method, a quad flat no-lead (QFN) method, a quadflat package (QFP) method, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the package base substrate 410 may be a printedcircuit board. For example, the package base substrate 410 may be adouble-sided printed circuit board or a multi-layer printed circuitboard. The package base substrate 410 may include a substrate baseformed of at least one material selected from a phenol resin, an epoxyresin, and polyimide. The substrate base may be formed of at least onematerial selected from a phenol resin, an epoxy resin, and polyimide.The substrate base may be formed of, for example, Frame Retardant 4(FR4), tetrafunctional epoxy, polyphenylene ether, epoxy/polyphenyleneoxide, bismaleimide triazine (BT), thermount, a cyanate ester,polyimide, and a liquid crystal polymer.

The package base substrate 410 may have a wiring pattern formed on upperand lower surfaces of the substrate base. In some embodiments, when thesubstrate base includes a plurality of layers, the wiring pattern may beformed between each of the plurality of layers of the substrate base. Aconductive via connecting the wiring patterns may be formed in thesubstrate base of the package base substrate 410. The conductive via maypenetrate the entire substrate base or a portion of the substrate baseto electrically connect the wiring patterns. The wiring patterns and/orthe conductive via may be formed of copper, nickel, stainless steel, orberyllium copper.

A solder resist layer may be formed on the upper and lower surfaces ofthe package base substrate 410 to cover at least a portion of the wiringpatterns disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate base.A portion of the wiring patterns disposed on the upper and lowersurfaces of the substrate base and not covered by the solder resistlayer may be used as a pad to be electrically connected with theplurality of semiconductor chips 420, an active element or a passiveelement attached to the upper surface and/or lower surface of thepackage base substrate 410.

The plurality of semiconductor chips 420 may include a plurality ofmemory semiconductor chips 422 and at least one controller chip 424.

The plurality of memory semiconductor chips 422 and the controller chip424 may each include a semiconductor substrate. The semiconductorsubstrate may include, for example, silicon (Si). Alternatively, thesemiconductor substrate may include a semiconductor element such asgermanium or a compound semiconductor such as silicon carbide (SiC),gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium arsenide (InAs), and indium phosphide(InP). The semiconductor substrate may have an active surface and aninactive surface opposite to the active surface. A semiconductor deviceincluding a plurality of individual devices of various kinds on theactive surface may be formed in each of the plurality of memorysemiconductor chips 422 and the controller chip 424.

The plurality of memory semiconductor chips 422 may be a non-volatilememory device. The non-volatile memory device may be implemented as, forexample, a flash memory, phase-change RAM (PRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM),ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), and the like, but is notlimited thereto. The flash memory may be, for example, a NAND flashmemory. The flash memory may be, for example, a V-NAND flash memory. Thenon-volatile memory device may include one semiconductor die or a stackof several semiconductor dies.

In some embodiments, some of the plurality of memory semiconductor chips422 may be volatile memory devices. The volatile memory device may be,for example, DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, DDR RAM, RDRAM, and the like, but is notlimited thereto. The volatile memory device provides a cache functionfor storing data that is frequently used when the external host accessesthe solid state drive apparatus 1, thereby scaling an access time anddata transfer performance according to process performance of theexternal host connected to the solid state drive apparatus 1.

The controller chip 424 may be used to control the plurality of memorysemiconductor chips 422. A controller may be mounted in the controllerchip 424. The controller may control access to data stored in thenonvolatile memory device. That is, the controller may controlwrite/read operations of the nonvolatile memory device such as a flashmemory according to a control command of an external host. Thecontroller may be a separate control semiconductor chip such as anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The controller may bedesigned to be automatically executed by an operating system of theexternal host when, for example, the solid state drive apparatus 1 isconnected to the external host. The controller may provide standardprotocols such as PATA, SATA, SCSI, or PCIe. Also, the controller mayperform wear leveling, garbage collection, bad block management, anderror correcting code (ECC) for the nonvolatile memory device. In thiscase, the controller may include a script for automatic execution and anapplication program that may be executed in the external host.

Although not illustrated, the package substrate module 400 may furtherinclude an active element or a passive element such as a chip resistor,a chip capacitor, an inductor, a switch, a temperature sensor, a DC-DCconverter, a quartz for generating a clock signal or a voltageregulator, which are mounted on the package base substrate 410.

The housing 100 may have a test groove or opening 130 defined in thefirst side wall SW1. The test groove 130 may penetrate the first sidewall SW1 so as to communicate the outside of the housing 100 with theinner space 108. The test groove 130 may be formed to pass through, forexample, the upper cover 102. The test groove 130 may be spaced apartfrom each of the plurality of vent holes 110.

A test connector 300 corresponding to or accessible through the testgroove 130 may be mounted on the package base substrate 410. The solidstate drive apparatus 1 may be tested through the test connector 300even when the solid state drive apparatus 1 is connected to an externalhost via the external connector 200.

Tests will now be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 11.While the solid state drive apparatus 1 is connected to a main board700, the test connector 300 corresponds to the test groove 130 of thefirst side wall SW1 opposite to the second side wall SW2 facing the mainboard 700. A test on the solid state drive apparatus 1 may be conductedusing the test connector 300 without disconnecting the solid state driveapparatus 1 from the main board 700.

FIG. 2A is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a solid statedrive apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept;FIG. 2B is an enlarged partial side view of a solid state driveapparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept; and FIG.2C is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a vent hole of the solid statedrive apparatus. In detail, FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of a region A ofFIG. 1C; and FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of a portion B of FIG. 1D. Inaddition, FIG. 2C is a separate enlarged view of a portion C of FIG. 2A.

Referring to FIGS. 2A to 2C together, the housing 100 may have aplurality of vent holes or channels 110 defined in the first side wallSW1. The plurality of vent holes 110 may pass through the first sidewall SW1 to communicate the outside of the housing 100 with the innerspace 108. In other words, the inner space 108 and the area outside ofthe housing 100 may be in fluid communication via the vent holes 110.The plurality of vent holes 110 may be formed to pass through, forexample, the upper cover 102. The plurality of vent holes 110 may extendbetween an inner surface 115 of the first side wall SW1 and an outersurface 117 of the first side wall SW1. The plurality of vent holes 110may be formed to extend in an oblique direction or at an oblique anglewith respect to each of an upper surface of the housing 100 and asurface of the first side wall SW1 (e.g., the inner surface 115 or theouter surface 117 of the first side wall SW1). Each of the plurality ofvent holes 110 may extend while a level of at least a portion of thehousing 110 is varied from the outside to the inside of the housing 100.In some embodiments, the plurality of vent holes 110 may be formed toextend from the outside to the inside of the housing 100 in an obliquedirection in which a level rises. For example, each vent hole 110 may beinclined and extend upwardly from the outer surface 117 to the innersurface 115 of the first side wall SW1. However, the inventive conceptis not limited thereto. For example, the plurality of vent holes 110 maybe formed to extend from the outside to the inside of the housing 100 inan oblique direction in which a level decreases. That is, each vent hole110 may be inclined and extend downwardly from the outer surface 117 tothe inner surface 115 of the first side wall SW1.

For example, an inclination (0) of the housing 100 in an extensiondirection of the vent holes 110 with respect to a thickness direction ofthe first side wall SW1 may have a value of arcsin(HR/CT)±5°. Here, CTis a thickness of the first side wall SW1 of the housing 100, and HR isa diameter of the vent holes 110. As used herein, diameter may mean adistance or spacing between an upper end of the vent hole 110 and alower end of the vent hole 110.

An outer side portion 112 and an inner side portion 114 may be formed ata first or outer side and a second or inner side of each of theplurality of vent holes 110, respectively. The outer side portion 112and the inner side portion 114 may be portions of the housing 100adjacent to the vent holes 110 that define the vent holes 110. The outerside portion 112 may be a portion of the housing 100 defining the ventholes 110 outside the housing 100, and the inner side portion 114 may bea portion of the housing 100 defining the vent holes 110 at the innerspace 108 of the housing 100. For example, the inner side portion 114may include the inner surface 115 of the first side wall SW1 and theouter side portion 112 may include the outer surface 117 of the firstside wall SW1. In some embodiments, the inner side portion 114 of eachof the plurality of vent holes 110 may be overall at a higher level thanthe outer side portion 112. That is, the inner side portion 114 of eachof the plurality of vent holes 110 may be at a higher vertical positionon the first side wall SW1 than the outer side portion 112. However, theinventive concept is not limited thereto. For example, the inner sideportion 114 of each of the plurality of vent holes 110 may be overall ata lower level than the outer side portion 112. That is, the inner sideportion 114 of each of the plurality of vent holes 110 may be at a lowervertical position on the first side wall SW1 than the outer side portion112.

In detail, the inner side portion 114 located overall at a higher levelthan the outer side portion 112 indicates that an upper end of the innerside portion 114 has a higher level than an upper end of the outer sideportion 112, and a lower end of the inner side portion 114 also has ahigher level than a lower end of the outer side portion 112. That is, anupper end of the inner side portion 114 is at a higher vertical positionon the first side wall SW1 than an upper end the outer side portion 112,and a lower end of the inner side portion 114 is also at a highervertical position on the first side wall SW1 than a lower end of the ofthe outer side portion 112. Likewise, the inner side portion 114 locatedoverall at a lower level than the outer side portion 112 indicates thatan upper end of the inner side portion 114 has a lower level than anupper end of the outer side portion 112, and a lower end of the innerside portion 114 also has a lower level than a lower end of the outerside portion 112. That is, an upper end of the inner side portion 114 isat a lower vertical position on the first side wall SW1 than an upperend the outer side portion 112, and a lower end of the inner sideportion 114 is also at a lower vertical position on the first side wallSW1 than a lower end of the of the outer side portion 112.

In some embodiments, a first level, height, or vertical position L1,which is a level of the upper end of the outer side portion 112, may beequal to or lower than the second level, height, or vertical positionL2, which is a level of the lower end of the inner side portion 114. Inthis case, an inclination of the vent holes 110 in an extensiondirection thereof may have a value of about arcsin(HR/CT) to aboutarcsin (HR/CT)+5°. In some embodiments, in some of the plurality of ventholes 110, the second level L2 may be lower than the upper surface ofthe package base substrate 410 and higher than the lower surface of thepackage base substrate 410. For the rest of the plurality of vent holes110, the second level L2 may be higher than an upper surface of thesemiconductor chip 420.

When viewing the first side wall SW1 from the outside of the housing 100in a horizontal direction, an observer viewing the vent holes 110 fromthe outside of the housing 100 may observe only an inner surface of thevent holes 110 through the outer side portion 112. Accordingly, theobserver may not observe the semiconductor chip 420 located in the innerspace 108 of the housing 100 through the vent holes 110.

FIGS. 3A to 6B are modified embodiments of the solid state driveapparatus 1 described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 2C, and commonreference numerals of FIGS. 1A to 2C may be referred to together here.

FIG. 3A is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a solid statedrive apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept; andFIG. 3B is an enlarged partial side view of the solid state driveapparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept. Indetail, FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of a portion corresponding to theregion A of FIG. 1C, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of a portioncorresponding to the portion B of FIG. 1D.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, a housing 100 a may include an upper cover102 a and a lower cover 104 a coupled to the upper cover 102 a. Thehousing 100 a may have a plurality of vent holes or channels 110 adefined in the first side wall SW1. The plurality of vent holes 110 amay penetrate the first side wall SW1 and communicate with the innerspace 108 with the outside of the housing 100 a. In other words, theinner space 108 and the area outside of the housing 100 a may be influid communication via the vent holes 110 a. The plurality of ventholes 110 a may be formed to penetrate, for example, the upper cover 102a. The plurality of vent holes 110 a may extend between an inner surface115 of the first side wall SW1 and an outer surface 117 of the firstside wall SW1. Each of the plurality of vent holes 110 a may extendwhile a level or vertical position of at least a portion thereof isvaried from the outside to the inside of the housing 100. For example,the plurality of vent holes 110 a may be formed to extend from theoutside to the inside of the housing 100 a in an oblique direction or atan oblique angle with respect to each of an upper surface of the housing100 a and a surface of the first side wall SW1 (e.g., the inner surface115 or the outer surface 117 of the first side wall SW1). In someembodiments, the plurality of vent holes 110 a may be formed to extendfrom the outside to the inside of the housing 100 a in an obliquedirection in which a level rises. For example, each vent hole 110 a maybe inclined and extend upwardly from the outer surface 117 to the innersurface 115 of the first side wall SW1.

An outer side portion 112 a and an inner side portion 114 a may beformed at a first side and a second side of each of the plurality ofvent holes 110 a, respectively. The outer side portion 112 a and theinner side portion 114 a may be portions of the housing 100 a adjacentto the vent holes 110 a and defining the vent holes 110 a. The outerside portion 112 a may be a portion of the housing 100 a defining thevent holes 110 a outside the housing 100 b, and the inner side portion114 a may be a portion of the housing 100 a defining the vent holes 110a at the inner space 108 of the housing 100 a. For example, the innerside portion 114 a may include the inner surface 115 of the first sidewall SW1 and the outer side portion 112 a may include the outer surface117 of the first side wall SW1.

In some embodiments, the inner side portion 114 a of each of theplurality of vent holes 110 a may be overall at a higher level than theouter side portion 112 a. That is, the inner side portion 114 a of eachof the plurality of vent holes 110 a may be at a higher verticalposition on the first side wall SW1 than the outer side portion 112 a.However, the inventive concept is not limited thereto. For example, theinner side portion 114 a of each of the plurality of vent holes 110 amay be overall at a lower level than the outer side portion 112 a. Thatis, the inner side portion 114 a of each of the plurality of vent holes110 a may be at a lower vertical position on the first side wall SW1than the outer side portion 112 a.

In detail, the inner side portion 114 a located overall at a higherlevel than the outer side portion 112 a indicates that an upper end ofthe inner side portion 114 a has a higher level than an upper end of theouter side portion 112 a, and a lower end of the inner side portion 114a also has a higher level than a lower end of the outer side portion 112a. That is, an upper end of the inner side portion 114 a is at a highervertical position on the first side wall SW1 than an upper end the outerside portion 112 a, and a lower end of the inner side portion 114 a isalso at a higher vertical position on the first side wall SW1 than alower end of the of the outer side portion 112 a. Likewise, the innerside portion 114 a located overall at a lower level than the outer sideportion 112 a indicates that an upper end of the inner side portion 114a has a lower level than an upper end of the outer side portion 112 a,and a lower end of the inner side portion 114 a also has a lower levelthan a lower end of the outer side portion 112 a. That is, an upper endof the inner side portion 114 a is at a lower vertical position on thefirst side wall SW1 than an upper end the outer side portion 112 a, anda lower end of the inner side portion 114 a is also at a lower verticalposition on the first side wall SW1 than a lower end of the of the outerside portion 112 a.

In some embodiments, a first level, height, or vertical position L1a atthe upper end of the outer side portion 112 a may have a level higherthan a second level, height, or vertical position L2a which is a levelof the lower end of the inner side portion 114 a. In this case, theinclination (0) of the vent holes 110 a in the extension direction (seeFIG. 2C) may have a value of about arcsin(HR/CT) to aboutarcsin(HR/CT)−5°. CT here denotes a thickness of the first side wall SW1of the housing 100 a, and HR (see FIG. 2C) is a diameter of the ventholes 110 a. In some embodiments, the second level L2a in some of theplurality of vent holes 110 a may be lower than the upper surface of thepackage base substrate 410 and higher than the lower surface of thepackage base substrate 410. The second level L2a may be higher than theupper surface of the semiconductor chip 420 for the rest of theplurality of vent holes 110 a.

When viewing the first side wall SW1 from the outside of the housing 100a in a horizontal direction, an observer viewing the vent holes 110 afrom the outside of the housing 100 a may observe only a side surface ofthe package base substrate 410 or the inner space 108 of the housing 100a through the outer side portion 112 a. Accordingly, the observer maynot observe the semiconductor chip 420 located in the inner space 108 ofthe housing 100 a through the vent holes 110 a.

FIG. 4A is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a solid statedrive apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept; andFIG. 4B is an enlarged partial side view of the solid state driveapparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept. Indetail, FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of a portion corresponding to theregion A of FIG. 1C, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of a portioncorresponding to the portion B of FIG. 1D.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, a housing 100 b may include an upper cover102 b and a lower cover 104 b coupled to the upper cover 102 b. Thehousing 100 b may have a plurality of vent holes or channels 110 bdefined in the first side wall SW1. The plurality of vent holes 110 bmay penetrate the first side wall SW1 and communicate the outside of thehousing 100 b with the inner space 108. In other words, the inner space108 and the area outside of the housing 100 b may be in fluidcommunication via the vent holes 110 b. The plurality of vent holes 110b may be formed to penetrate, for example, the upper cover 102 b. Theplurality of vent holes 110 b may extend between an inner surface 115 ofthe first side wall SW1 and an outer surface 117 of the first side wallSW1. Each of the plurality of vent holes 110 b may extend from theoutside of the housing 100 b toward the inside of the housing 100 bwhile a level or height of at least a portion of the plurality of ventholes 110 b is varied. Each of the plurality of vent holes 110 b mayinclude an inner vent hole 110 b-I and an outer vent hole 110 b-O thatcommunicate with each other. The inner vent hole 110 b-I may inwardlyextend into an inner portion of the first side wall SW1 in a horizontaldirection from the inner space 108 of the housing 100 b, and the outervent hole 110 b-I may inwardly extend into the inner portion of thefirst side wall SW1 from the outside of the housing 100 b such that thatthe inner vent hole 110 b-I and the outer vent hole 110 b-O communicatewith each other. The inner vent hole 110 b-I and the outer vent hole 110b-O of each of the plurality of vent holes 110 b may have differentlevels overall and may inwardly extend into the inner portion of thehousing 100 b in a horizontal direction from the inside and the outsideof the housing 100 b. The inner vent hole 110 b-I of each vent hole 110b may extend from the inner surface 115 of the first side wall SW1 andthe outer vent hole 110 b-O of each vent hole 110 b may extend from theouter surface 117 of the first side wall SW1.

An outer side portion 112 b and an inner side portion 114 b may beformed at a first side and a second side of each of the plurality ofvent holes 110 b, respectively. The outer side portion 112 b and theinner side portion 114 b may be portions of the housing 100 b adjacentto the vent holes 110 b and defining the vent holes 110 b. The outerside portion 112 b may be a portion of the housing 100 b defining thevent holes 110 b outside the housing 100 b, that is, defining the outervent holes 110 b-O, and the inner side portion 114 b may be a portion ofthe housing 100 b defining the vent holes 110 b at the inner space 108of the housing 100 b, that is, defining the inner vent holes 110 b-I.For example, the inner side portion 114 b may include the inner surface115 of the first side wall SW1 and the outer side portion 112 b mayinclude the outer surface 117 of the first side wall SW1.

In some embodiments, the inner side portion 114 b of each of theplurality of vent holes 110 b may be overall at a lower level than theouter side portion 112 b. That is, the inner side portion 114 b of eachof the plurality of vent holes 110 b may be at a lower vertical positionon the first side wall SW1 than the outer side portion 112 b. However,the inventive concept is not limited thereto. For example, the innerside portion 114 b of each of the plurality of vent holes 110 b may beoverall at a higher level than the outer side portion 112 b. That is,the inner side portion 114 b of each of the plurality of vent holes 110b may be at a higher vertical position on the first side wall SW1 thanthe outer side portion 112 b.

In detail, the inner side portion 114 b located overall at a higherlevel than the outer side portion 112 b indicates that an upper end ofthe inner side portion 114 b has a higher level than an upper end of theouter side portion 112 b, and a lower end of the inner side portion 114b also has a higher level than a lower end of the outer side portion 112b. That is, an upper end of the inner side portion 114 b is at a highervertical position on the first side wall SW1 than an upper end the outerside portion 112 b, and a lower end of the inner side portion 114 b isalso at a higher vertical position on the first side wall SW1 than alower end of the of the outer side portion 112 b. Likewise, the innerside portion 114 b located overall at a lower level than the outer sideportion 112 b indicates that an upper end of the inner side portion 114b has a lower level than an upper end of the outer side portion 112 b,and a lower end of the inner side portion 114 b also has a lower levelthan a lower end of the outer side portion 112 b. That is, an upper endof the inner side portion 114 b is at a lower vertical position on thefirst side wall SW1 than an upper end the outer side portion 112 b, anda lower end of the inner side portion 114 b is also at a lower verticalposition on the first side wall SW1 than a lower end of the of the outerside portion 112 b.

In some embodiments, a first level, height, or vertical position L1bwhich is a level of an upper end of the outer side portion 112 b and asecond level, height, or vertical position L2b which is a level of alower end of the inner side portion 114 b may have the same orsubstantially the same level as each other. When viewing the first sidewall SW1 from the outside of the housing 100 b in a horizontaldirection, an observer viewing the vent holes 110 b from the outside ofthe housing 100 b may observe only a portion of the housing 100 b in theouter vent hole 110 b-O through the outer side portion 112 b.Accordingly, the observer is not able to observe the semiconductor chip420 located in the inner space 108 of the housing 100 b through the ventholes 110 b.

In some of the plurality of vent holes 110 b, the first level L1b andthe second level L2b may be at a level lower than the upper surface ofthe package base substrate 410 and at a higher level than the lowersurface of the package base substrate 410. For the rest of the pluralityof vent holes 110 b, the first level L1b and the second level L2b may beat a higher level than the upper surface of the semiconductor chip 420.

In other embodiments, the first level L1b which is the level of theupper end of the outer side portion 112 b may have a lower level thanthe second level L2b which is the level of the lower end of the innerside portion 114 b. When viewing the first side wall SW1 from theoutside of the housing 100 b in a horizontal direction, an observerviewing the vent holes 110 b from the outside of the housing 100 b mayobserve only a side surface of the package base substrate 410 in thehousing 100 b or the inner space 108 of the housing 100 b through theouter side portion 112 b. Accordingly, the observer is not able toobserve the semiconductor chip 420 located in the inner space 108 of thehousing 100 b through the vent holes 110 b.

FIG. 5A is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a solid statedrive apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept; andFIG. 5B is an enlarged partial side view of the solid state driveapparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept. Indetail, FIG. 5A is an enlarged view of a portion corresponding to theregion A of FIG. 1C, and FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of a portioncorresponding to the portion B of FIG. 1D.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, a housing 100 c may include an upper cover102 c and a lower cover 104 c coupled to the upper cover 102 c. Thehousing 100 c may have a plurality of vent holes or channels 110 cdefined in the first side wall SW1. The plurality of vent holes 110 cmay penetrate the first side wall SW1 and communicate the outside of thehousing 100 c with the inner space 108. In other words, the inner space108 and the area outside of the housing 100 c may be in fluidcommunication via the vent holes 110 c. The plurality of vent holes 110c may be formed to penetrate, for example, the upper cover 102 c. Theplurality of vent holes 110 c may extend between an inner surface 115 ofthe first side wall SW1 and an outer surface 117 of the first side wallSW1. Each of the plurality of vent holes 110 c may inwardly extend fromthe outside of the housing 100 c while a level or height in at least aportion of the vent holes 110 c is varied. Each of the plurality of ventholes 110 c may include an inner vent hole 110 c-I and an outer venthole 110 c-O that communicate with each other. The inner vent hole 110c-I may extend from the inner space 108 of the housing 100 c toward aninner portion of the first side wall SW1 of the housing 100 c in anoblique direction or at an oblique angle, and the outer vent hole 110c-I may extend from the outside of the housing 100 c toward the innerportion of the first side wall SW1 of the housing 100 c in an obliquedirection or at an oblique angle such that the inner vent hole 110 c-Iand the outer vent hole 110 c-O communicate with each other. The innervent hole 110 c-I of each vent hole 110 c may extend from the innersurface 115 of the first side wall SW1 and the outer vent hole 110 c-Oof each vent hole 110 c may extend from the outer surface 117 of thefirst side wall SW1.

In some embodiments, the inner vent hole 110 c-I of the plurality ofvent holes 110 c may inwardly extend from the inside of the housing 100c or the inner surface 115 in an oblique direction in which a leveldecreases, and the outer vent hole 110 c-O of the plurality of ventholes 110 c may inwardly extend from the outside of the housing 100 c orthe outer surface 117 in an oblique direction in which a leveldecreases, so that the vent holes 110 c extend from the outside to theinside of the housing 100 c in a V-shape.

In some embodiments, the inner vent hole 110 c-I of the plurality ofvent holes 110 c may inwardly extend from the inside of the housing 100c or the inner surface 115 in an oblique direction in which a levelrises, and the outer vent hole 110 c-O of the plurality of vent holes110 c may inwardly extend from the outside of the housing 100 c or theouter surface 117 in an oblique direction in which a level rises, sothat the plurality of vent holes 110 c have a ̂ or inverse V-shape.

An outer side portion 112 c and an inner side portion 114 c may beformed at a first side and a second side of each of the plurality ofvent holes 110 c, respectively. The outer side portion 112 c and theinner side portion 114 c may be portions of the housing 100 c adjacentto the vent holes 110 c and defining the vent holes 110 c. The outerside portion 112 c may be a portion of the housing 100 c defining thevent holes 110 c outside the housing 100 c, that is, the outer ventholes 110 c-O, and the inner side portion 114 c may be a portion of thehousing 100 c defining the vent holes 110 c at the inner space 108 ofthe housing 100 c, that is, the inner vent holes 110 c-I. For example,the inner side portion 114 c may include the inner surface 115 of thefirst side wall SW1 and the outer side portion 112 c may include theouter surface 117 of the first side wall SW1.

In some embodiments, the inner side portion 114 c of each of theplurality of vent holes 110 c may be overall at a higher level orvertical position than the outer side portion 112 c or at an identicallevel or vertical position to the outer side portion 112 c or at a lowerlevel or vertical position than the outer side portion 112 c.

In some embodiments, a first level, height, or vertical position L1c,which is a level of an upper end of the outer side portion 112 c, mayhave a higher level than a third level, height, or vertical positionL3c, which is a level of an upper end of the vent holes 110 c where theouter vent holes 110 c-O and the inner vent holes 110 c-I meet, and thethird level L3c may have a higher level than a second level, height, orvertical position L2c, which is a level of a lower end of the inner sideportion 114 c.

When viewing the first side wall SW1 from the outside of the housing 100c in a horizontal direction, an observer viewing the vent holes 110 cfrom the outside of the housing 100 c may observe only a side surface ofthe package base substrate 410 or the inner space 108 of the housing 100c through the outer side portion 112. Accordingly, the observer may notobserve the semiconductor chip 420 located in the inner space 108 of thehousing 100 c through the vent holes 110 c.

In another embodiments, when the first level L1c has an identical levelto or a lower level than the third level L3c, or the second level L2chas an identical level to or a higher level than the third level L3c, anobserver who views the vent holes 110 c from the outside of the housing100 c in a horizontal direction may observe only the housing 100 c inthe inner vent holes 110 c-I. Accordingly, the observer may not observethe semiconductor chip 420 located in the inner space 108 in the housing100 c through the vent holes 110 c.

FIG. 6A is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a solid statedrive apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept; andFIG. 6B is an enlarged partial side view of the solid state driveapparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept. Indetail, FIG. 6A is an enlarged view of a portion corresponding to theregion A of FIG. 1C, and FIG. 6B is an enlarged view of a portioncorresponding to the portion B of FIG. 1D.

Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, a housing 100 d may include an upper cover102 d and a lower cover 104 d coupled to the upper cover 102 d. Thehousing 100 d may have a plurality of vent holes or channels 110 ddefined in the first side wall SW1. The plurality of vent holes 110 dmay penetrate the first side wall SW1 and communicate the outside of thehousing 100 d with the inner space 108. In other words, the inner space108 and the area outside of the housing 100 d may be in fluidcommunication via the vent holes 110 d. The plurality of vent holes 110d may be formed to penetrate, for example, the upper cover 102 d. Theplurality of vent holes 110 d may extend between an inner surface 115 ofthe first side wall SW1 and an outer surface 117 of the first side wallSW1. Each of the plurality of vent holes 110 d may inwardly extend fromthe outside of the housing 100 d while a level or height of at least aportion of the vent holes 110 d is varied. The plurality of vent holes110 d may be formed to extend in an oblique direction or at an obliqueangle with respect to each of an upper surface of the housing 100 d anda surface of the first side wall SW1 (e.g., the inner surface 115 or theouter surface 117). In some embodiments, the plurality of vent holes 110d may be formed so as to extend from the outside to the inside of thehousing 100 d in an oblique direction in which a level rises. Forexample, each vent hole 110 d may be inclined and extend upwardly fromthe outer surface 117 to the inner surface 115 of the first side wallSW1.

An outer side portion 112 d and an inner side portion 114 d may beformed at a first side and a second side of each of the plurality ofvent holes 110 d, respectively. The outer side portion 112 d and theinner side portion 114 d may be a portion of the housing 100 a adjacentto the vent holes 110 d and defining the vent holes 110 d. The outerside portion 112 d may be a portion of the housing 100 d defining thevent holes 110 d outside the housing 100 d, and the inner side portion114 d may be a portion of the housing 100 d defining the vent holes 110a at the inner space 108 of the housing 100 d. For example, the innerside portion 114 d may include the inner surface 115 of the first sidewall SW1 and the outer side portion 112 d may include the outer surface117 of the first side wall SW1.

In some embodiments, a first diameter HRa which is a diameter of theouter side portion 112 d of each of the vent holes 110 d may be greaterthan a second diameter HRb which is a diameter of the inner side portion114 d. In some embodiments, the vent holes 110 d may inwardly extendfrom the outside of the housing 100 and with a decreasing diameter orheight. For example, the vent holes 110 d may extend from the outersurface 117 to the inner surface 115 with decreasing diameter. As usedherein, diameter may mean a distance or spacing between an upper end anda lower end of the outer side portion 112 d or the inner side portion114 d.

As the second diameter HRb which is an inner diameter of the vent holes110 d is smaller than the first diameter HRa which is an outer diameter,when viewing the first side wall SW1 from the outside of the housing 100d in a horizontal direction, an observer viewing the vent holes 110 dfrom the outside of the housing 100 d may observe only an inner surfaceof the vent holes 110 d through the outer side portion 112 b.Accordingly, the observer may not observe the semiconductor chip 420located in the inner space 108 of the housing 100 d through the ventholes 110 d.

Referring to FIGS. 1A through 6B together, an observer may not observethe semiconductor chip 420 from the outside of the solid state driveapparatus 1 according to the inventive concept. In detail, in the solidstate drive apparatus 1 according to the inventive concept, air may passthrough the vent holes 110, 110 a, 110 b, 110 c, and 110 d and theconnector groove 120 formed in each of the first side wall SW1 and thesecond side wall SW2 arranged opposite to each other, and thus, heatgenerated in the solid state drive apparatus 1 may be easily dissipated,and at the same time, the security effects of preventing leakage ofinformation from the solid state drive apparatus 1 by inserting a probefrom the outside of the solid state drive apparatus 1 into the ventholes 110, 110 a, 110 b, 110 c, and 110 d may be provided.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a solid state drive apparatus 1 a according toan embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 7, a label 150 completely covering a test groove 130may be adhered to the first side wall SW1 of the housing 100 of thesolid state drive apparatus 1 a. In some embodiments, the label 150 maybe adhered to extend from the first side wall SW1 of the housing 100 toa lower surface of the housing 100. The label 150 may be, for example, asticker coated with an adhesive.

As the label 150 completely covers the test groove 130, the testconnector 300 may not be exposed to the outside. Accordingly, leakage ofinformation in the solid state drive apparatus 1 a through the testconnector 300 from the outside of the solid state drive apparatus 1 amay be prevented.

In some embodiments, the label 150 may be a void label. Accordingly,after removing the label 150, if information in the solid state driveapparatus 1 a is leaked through the test connector 300 from the outsideof the solid state drive apparatus 1 a, a portion of the label 150 mayremain on a surface of the housing 100 as a void marking so that whetherinformation is leaked or not may be determined.

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of a solid state drive apparatus 2according to an embodiment of the inventive concept, and FIG. 8B is aside view of the solid state drive apparatus 2 according to anembodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B together, the solid state drive apparatus 2includes a housing 100 and a first package substrate module 400 a and asecond package substrate module 500 mounted in the housing 100.

The first package substrate module 400 a may include a first packagebase substrate 410 a and a plurality of first semiconductor chips 420 amounted on the first package base substrate 410.

The plurality of first semiconductor chips 420 a may include a pluralityof first memory semiconductor chips 422 a and at least one controllerchip 424 a. The first package substrate module 400 a, the first packagebase substrate 410 a, the first memory semiconductor chip 422 a, and thecontroller chip 424 a are respectively similar to the package substratemodule 400, the package base substrate 410, the memory semiconductorchip 422, and the controller chip 424 described with reference to FIGS.1A through 1D, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

While a location where the plurality of first semiconductor chips 420 aare mounted in the first package substrate module 400 a is differentfrom that of the plurality of semiconductor chips 420 of the packagesubstrate module 400 illustrated in FIG. 1C, the location is an example,and the inventive concept is not limited thereto. For example, theplurality of first memory semiconductor chips 422 a may be mounted onlyon an upper surface of the first package base substrate 410 a, or someof them may be mounted on each of upper and lower surfaces of the firstpackage base substrate 410 a. In addition, for example, at least onecontroller chip 424 a may be mounted only on the upper surface of thefirst package base substrate 410 a or only on the lower surface of thefirst package base substrate 410 a.

The second package substrate module 500 may include a second packagebase substrate 510 and a plurality of second memory semiconductor chips520 mounted on the second package base substrate 510. The second packagebase substrate 510 and the second memory semiconductor chips 520 arerespectively similar to the first package base substrate 410 and thememory semiconductor chips 422 described with reference to FIGS. 1Athrough 1D, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted. Aspacer 600 may couple and space apart the first package base substrate410 a and the second package base substrate 510.

The second package substrate module 500 may be, for example, a DIMM inwhich a plurality of second memory semiconductor chips 520 arerespectively mounted on upper and lower surfaces of the second packagebase substrate 510, but is not limited thereto. For example, the secondpackage substrate module 500 may be a SIMM in which a plurality ofsecond memory semiconductor chips 520 are mounted on one of the uppersurface and the lower surface of the second package base substrate 510.

The housing 100 may have a plurality of vent holes or channels 110defined in the first side wall SW1. The plurality of vent holes 110 maypenetrate the first side wall SW1 and communicate the outside of thehousing 100 with the inner space 108. The plurality of vent holes 110may be formed to penetrate, for example, the upper cover 102. Theplurality of vent holes 110 may be formed to extend in an obliquedirection or at an oblique angle with respect to each of an uppersurface of the housing 100 and a surface of the first side wall SW1. Insome embodiments, the plurality of vent holes 110 may be formed toinwardly extend from the outside of the housing 100 in an obliquedirection in which a level rises, but are not limited thereto. Forexample, the plurality of vent holes 110 may be formed to extend fromthe outside to the inside of the housing 100 in an oblique direction inwhich a level decreases.

When viewing the first side wall SW1 from the outside of the housing100, an observer viewing the vent holes 110 from the outside of thehousing 100 may observe only an inner surface of the vent holes 110through the outer side portion 112. Accordingly, the observer may notobserve the first semiconductor chip 420 a located in the inner space108 of the housing 100 through the vent holes 110.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a solid state drive apparatus 2 a according toan embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 9, the solid state drive apparatus 2 a includes ahousing 100 a. Similarly to the solid state drive apparatus 2 of FIG.8A, the solid state drive apparatus 2 a includes a first packagesubstrate module 400 a and a second package substrate module 500 mountedin the housing 100 a.

The housing 100 a may include an upper cover 102 a and a lower cover 104a coupled to the upper cover 102 a. The housing 100 a may have aplurality of vent holes or channels 110 a defined in the first side wallSW1. The plurality of vent holes 110 a may penetrate the first side wallSW1 and communicate the outside of the housing 100 a with the innerspace 108. The plurality of vent holes 110 a may be formed to penetrate,for example, the upper cover 102 a. The plurality of vent holes 110 amay be formed to extend in an oblique direction or at an oblique anglewith respect to each of an upper surface of the housing 100 a and asurface of the first side wall SW1. In some embodiments, the pluralityof vent holes 110 a may be formed to inwardly extend from the outside ofthe housing 100 a in an oblique direction in which a level rises.

When viewing the first side wall SW1 from the outside of the housing 100a, an observer viewing the vent holes 110 a from the outside of thehousing 100 a may observe a side surface of the first package basesubstrate 410 a and a side surface of the second package base substrate510 through the vent holes 110 a. In detail, the observer may observethe side surface of the first package base substrate 410 a through someof the plurality of vent holes 110 a and the side surface of the secondpackage base substrate 510 through the rest of the vent holes 110 a.

Accordingly, the observer may not observe a first semiconductor chip 420a and a second memory semiconductor chip 520 located in the inner space108 (see FIG. 8B) of the housing 100 a through the vent holes 110 a.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a solid state drive apparatus 3according to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 10, the solid state drive apparatus 3 includes ahousing 100 e and a package substrate module 400 mounted in the housing100 e. The housing 100 e may include an upper cover 102 e and a lowercover 104 e coupled to the upper cover 102 e.

The solid state drive apparatus 3 is similar to the solid state driveapparatus 1 described in FIGS. 1A to 1D except for the housing 100 e.The lower cover 104 e is similar to the lower cover 104 described withreference to FIGS. 1A to 1D, and thus detailed description thereof willbe omitted.

The housing 100 e may have a first side wall SW1 and a second side wallSW2 opposite to each other. The housing 100 e may have a plurality ofvent holes or channels 110 defined in the first side wall SW1. Theplurality of vent holes 110 may be formed to penetrate, for example, theupper cover 102 e. The housing 100 e may have a connector groove oropening 120 in the second side wall SW2. The connector groove 120 may beformed to penetrate, for example, the upper cover 102 e.

The upper cover 102 e may have at least one downward protrusion orprojection 102 e-P. The at least one protrusion 102 e-P may be disposedon a side of the upper cover 102 e facing the inner space 108. Indetail, a surface of the upper cover 102 e facing an upper outer sidemay have a flat shape, and a surface of the upper cover 102 e facing theinner space 108 may have a shape where the at least one protrusion 102e-P protrudes towards the package substrate module 400. The at least oneprotrusion 102 e-P may be arranged to correspond to or align with aplurality of semiconductor chips 420.

A thermal interface material (TIM) 160 may be disposed between the atleast one protrusion 102 e-P and the plurality of semiconductor chips420. The at least one protrusion 102 e-P and the plurality ofsemiconductor chips 420 may be in thermal contact with the upper cover102 e through the TIM 160. The TIM 160 may be, for example, a gel, a pador a particle filled epoxy formed of, for example, a grease, a thermallyconductive adhesive, a mineral oil, a gap filler putty, or aphase-change material. For example, commercially available greasesinclude ShinEtsu G750, ShinEtsu G751, ShinEtsu G765, Berquist TIC-7500;commercially available phase-change materials include ThermaxHF60110-BT, Chromerics T725, Chromerics T443, Chromerics T454, ThermagonT-Berquist 200U, Berquist HiFlow 225-U, and Berquist HiFlow 225-UT; andcommercially available thermally conductive adhesives include Chromericstherm-A-form T642 as thermally conductive adhesives. However, the TIM160 is not limited to these materials

The at least one protrusion 102 e-P may include a first protrusion 102e-P1 corresponding to and/or above the plurality of memory semiconductorchips 422 and a second protrusion 102 e-P2 corresponding to and/or abovethe at least one controller chip 424. The TIM 160 may include a firstTIM 162 disposed between the first protrusion 102 e-P1 and the pluralityof memory semiconductor chips 422 and a second TIM 164 disposed betweenthe second protrusions 102 e-P2 and the at least one controller chip424.

The number of the at least one protrusions 102 e-P may be variouslyconfigured in consideration of an upper surface area and arrangement ofeach of the plurality of semiconductor chips 420. In some embodiments,the upper cover 102 e may have one protrusion 102 e-P that correspondsto the plurality of semiconductor chips 420. In some embodiments, aplurality of first protrusions 102 e-P1 respectively corresponding tothe plurality of memory semiconductor chips 422 may be included.

FIG. 11 is a structural diagram of a system 1000 according to anembodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 11, the system 1000 includes a plurality of solidstate drive apparatuses 1 connected to a main board 700 and at least onecooling fan 800. The system 1000 may be, for example, a data storagesystem such as Network-Attached Storage (NAS). The system 1000 mayinclude a rack in which the plurality of solid state drive apparatuses 1are installed, a case surrounding the plurality of solid state driveapparatuses 1 and the at least one cooling fan 800, and a power supplyunit.

Each of the plurality of solid state drive apparatuses 1 may beelectrically connected to the main board 700 through a signaltransmission medium 750 coupled to an external connector 200. In thesystem 1000, a second side wall SW2 of each of the plurality of solidstate drive apparatuses 1 may face the main board 700. The signaltransmission medium 750 may be, for example, a film cable, aBoard-to-Board (BtoB) connector, a flat flexible cable (FFC) connector,or a flexible printed circuitry (FPC) connector.

The at least one cooling fan 800 may be disposed adjacent to the firstside wall SW1 of the plurality of solid state drive apparatuses 1. Theat least one cooling fan 800 may form a forced convection environment inthe system 1000. The flow of the air formed in the system 1000 by the atleast one cooling fan 800 may be transmitted through the plurality ofvent holes 110 of the first side wall SW1 of the solid state driveapparatuses 1 and into the solid state drive apparatuses 1 and thentransferred to the outside of the solid state drive apparatuses 1through the connector groove 120 of the second side wall SW2.

Accordingly, the solid state drive apparatuses 1 may be cooled by theflow of the air that is transferred into the solid state driveapparatuses 1 through the plurality of vent holes 110 of the first sidewall SW1 and then transmitted to the outside through the connectorgroove 120 of the second side wall SW2.

Here, an observer may not observe the semiconductor chip 420 from theoutside of the solid state drive apparatuses 1 through the plurality ofvent holes 110. Accordingly, the security effects of preventing leakageof information from the solid state drive apparatuses 1 by inserting aprobe into the vent hole 110 from outside the solid state driveapparatuses 1 may be obtained.

While the system 1000 is illustrated as including the solid state driveapparatus 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 2C, the system 1000 is notlimited thereto. For example, the system 1000 may include at least oneof the solid state drive apparatuses 1 a, 2, 2 a, and 3 illustrated inFIGS. 7A through 10. The solid state drive apparatus 1 of the system1000 is shown as having the plurality of vent holes 110 illustrated inFIGS. 1A to 2C, but is not limited thereto. The solid state driveapparatus 1 may include one of the vent holes 110 a, 101 b, 110 c, and110 d illustrated in FIGS. 3A through 6B.

According to the solid state drive apparatus of the inventive concept,an observer may not view a semiconductor chip from the outside of thesolid state drive apparatus. In detail, according to the solid statedrive apparatus, the air may pass through vent holes and connectorgrooves in each of a first side wall and a second side wall opposite toeach other, and thus, heat generated in the solid state drive apparatusmay be easily discharged, and at the same time, the security effects ofpreventing leakage of information from the solid state drive apparatusfrom the outside of the solid state drive apparatus by inserting a probeinto the vent holes may be obtained.

While the inventive concept has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to embodiments thereof, it will be understood thatvarious changes in form and details may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A solid state drive apparatus comprising: ahousing having an inner space and a plurality of vent channelspenetrating a first side wall at a first side of the housing and aconnector opening penetrating a second side wall at a second side of thehousing opposite the first side of the housing; and a package substratemodule in the inner space and having a package base substrate and aplurality of semiconductor chips mounted on the package base substrate,wherein each of the plurality of vent channels extends inwardly from anouter surface of the first side wall to an inner surface of the firstside wall such that a vertical level of at least a portion of each ofthe plurality of vent channels varies between the outer surface and theinner surface.
 2. The solid state drive apparatus of claim 1, whereineach of the plurality of vent channels extends inwardly from the outersurface of the first side wall at an oblique angle with respect to eachof an upper surface of the housing and the outer surface of the firstside wall.
 3. The solid state drive apparatus of claim 1, wherein thehousing has an outer side portion defining a first side of each of theplurality of vent channels and an inner side portion defining a secondside of each of the plurality of vent channels, wherein the verticallevel of each of the plurality of vent channels increases from the outerside portion toward the inner side portion of the housing.
 4. The solidstate drive apparatus of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of ventchannels has a decreasing diameter from the outer side portion towardthe inner side portion of the housing.
 5. The solid state driveapparatus of claim 3, wherein a first vertical level of an upper end ofthe outer side portion of the housing is equal to or lower than a secondvertical level of a lower end of the inner side portion of the housing.6. The solid state drive apparatus of claim 3, wherein a first verticallevel of an upper end of the outer side portion of the housing is higherthan a second vertical level of a lower end of the inner side portion ofthe housing, wherein the second vertical level is lower than an uppersurface of the package base substrate and higher than a lower surface ofthe package base substrate for at least some of the plurality of ventchannels.
 7. The solid state drive apparatus of claim 3, wherein a firstvertical level of an upper end of the outer side portion of the housingis higher than a second vertical level of a lower end of the inner sideportion of the housing, wherein the second vertical level is lower thanan upper surface of the package base substrate and higher than a lowersurface of the package base substrate for some of the plurality of ventchannels, and the second vertical level is higher than an upper surfaceof the plurality of semiconductor chips for the rest of the plurality ofvent channels.
 8. The solid state drive apparatus of claim 1, whereineach of the plurality of vent channels extends inwardly from the outersurface of the housing to the inner surface of the housing in a V-shape.9. The solid state drive apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of theplurality of vent channels includes an inner vent channel and an outervent channel which communicate with each other, the inner vent channelextends horizontally from the inner surface of the first side wall at afirst vertical level, and the outer vent channel extends horizontallyfrom the outer surface of the first side wall at a second vertical levelthat is different than the first vertical level.
 10. The solid statedrive apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of ventchannels includes an inner vent channel and an outer vent channel whichcommunicate with each other, the inner vent channel extends horizontallyfrom the inner surface of the first side wall and the outer vent channelextends horizontally from the outer surface of the first side wall, and,for each of the plurality of vent channels, either (i) an upper end ofthe inner vent channel is at a higher vertical level than an upper endof the outer vent channel and a lower end of the inner vent channel isat a higher vertical level than a lower end of the outer vent channel or(ii) the upper end of the inner vent channel is at a lower verticallevel than the upper end of the outer vent channel and the lower end ofthe inner vent channel is at a lower vertical level than the lower endof the outer vent channel.
 11. The solid state drive apparatus of claim1, wherein only an inner surface of each of the plurality of ventchannels is viewable to an observer viewing the plurality of ventchannels from outside of the housing in a horizontal direction.
 12. Thesolid state drive apparatus of claim 1, wherein a side surface of thepackage base substrate is viewable through some of the plurality of ventchannels, and the plurality of semiconductor chips are not viewablethrough any of the plurality of vent channels, to an observer viewingthe plurality of vent channels from outside of the housing in ahorizontal direction.
 13. A data storage system comprising: a mainboard; a plurality of solid state drive apparatuses each comprising ahousing having an inner space and a plurality of vent holes penetratinga first side wall at a first side of the housing and a connector openingpenetrating a second side wall at a second side of the housing oppositethe first side of the housing, a package substrate module in the innerspace and having a package base substrate and a plurality ofsemiconductor chips mounted on the package base substrate, wherein thesecond side wall faces the main board and is connected to the mainboard; and at least one cooling fan arranged adjacent to the first sidewall of each of the plurality of solid state drive apparatuses, wherein,for each of the plurality of solid state drive apparatuses, each of theplurality of vent holes extends inwardly from an outer surface of thefirst side wall to an inner surface of the first side wall such that avertical level of at least a portion of each of the plurality of ventholes varies between the outer surface and the inner surface.
 14. Thedata storage system of claim 13, wherein, for each of the plurality ofsolid state drive apparatuses, the housing further comprises a testopening in the first side wall, the test opening penetrating the firstside wall and spaced apart from each of the plurality of vent holes,wherein the data storage system further comprises a label completelycovering the test opening on the first side wall of the housing.
 15. Thedata storage system of claim 14, wherein the label is a void label. 16.The data storage system of claim 13, wherein the plurality ofsemiconductor chips are not viewable through any of the plurality of thevent holes to an observer viewing the plurality of vent holes fromoutside of the housing in a horizontal direction.
 17. A solid statedrive apparatus comprising: a housing defining an inner space and aplurality of vent channels defined in a first side wall at a first sideof the housing and a connector opening defined in a second side wall ata second side of the housing opposite the first side of the housing; afirst package substrate module in the inner space and comprising a firstpackage base substrate and a plurality of first memory semiconductorchips and at least one controller chip mounted on the first package basesubstrate; and a second package substrate module in the inner space andcomprising a second package base substrate and a plurality of secondmemory semiconductor chips mounted on the second package base substrate,wherein each of the plurality of vent channels extends inwardly andupwardly from an outer surface of the first side wall to an innersurface of the first side wall.
 18. The solid state drive apparatus ofclaim 17, wherein only an inner surface of each of the plurality of ventchannels is viewable when viewing the plurality of vent channels fromoutside of the housing in a horizontal direction.
 19. The solid statedrive apparatus of claim 17, wherein a side surface of the first packagebase substrate is viewable through some of the plurality of ventchannels, and a side surface of the second package base substrate isviewable through the rest of the plurality of vent channels, whenviewing the plurality of vent channels from outside of the housing in ahorizontal direction.
 20. The solid state drive apparatus of claim 17,wherein the plurality of first memory semiconductor chips, the pluralityof second memory semiconductor chips, and the at least one controllerchip are not viewable through any of the plurality of vent channels whenviewing the plurality of vent channels from outside of the housing in ahorizontal direction.